Gas holder



. 4 ENTOR:

5. BY 7% 13 ATTORNEY July 7, 1925.

' G. E. CROSBY GAS HOLDER Filed Jan. 9, 1924 Patented July 7, 1925.

UNITED STATES GEORGE EDWIN CROSBY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

GAS HOLDER.

Application mammary 9, 1924. Serial No. 685,270.

To all whom it may concern:

=Be it knownthat I, GEORGE E. CnosBY, a citizen of the United States, residlng at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gas holders,and particularly to gas holders of the type ineluding a bell having telescoping sections with a water seal between adjoining sections. In my prior Patent No. 865,480, dated September 10, 1907, I havedisclosed an arrangement for preventing the freezing of the water in the seals during cold weather.

lVhile this arrangement has proved to be an important advance in this art, it is, nevertheless, open to certain objections which the present invention aims to overcome. In the arrangement shown in my prior patent,

warm water is fed to the tank and seals and circulates through them, overflowing the seals within the bell, and thisoverflow is caught in the tank in which the bell is mounted. The distance traversed by this overflowing water varies with the height of the bell, in somejinstances being only relatively few feet, while in other cases is from 100' to 200 feet. If the water drops for any great distance, it is broken up into a relatively fine spray,'an d a considerable percentageof this water is absorbed by the gas in the bell. This has the objectionable effect of raising the dew point of the gas. It is especially objectionable in cold weather when the water vapor inthe gas condenses in the distribution pipes in the form of frost.

In some cases frost accumulates sufficiently to seriously impede or even to stop the flow of gas to the various consumption points.

A further objection .to this arrangement is that thejwater falling through the gas in the bell absorbs certain constituents of the gas,

particularly certain oily compounds, which are valuable ingredients in the gas mixture.

In other words, the water overflowing from the seals washes the gas, and the removal of constituents therefrom which results from this washing obviously is objectionable.

,. The present invention has for its chief objectboth to overcome the objections above mentioned and also to reduce the expense of keepingthe seals open in cold weather.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accomwith a flange 9 that panying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the ap pended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gas holder embodying features ofthis invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view on a large scale through the wall of the bell of the holder shown in Fig. 1, and shows the water seals at the top and bottom of an intermediate section of the bell;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View showing certain details of the water seal construction and the means for discharging water therefrom; and.

Fig. l is a cross sectional view, partly in elevation,showing certain details of the arrangement for supplying water to a seal.

Fig. 1 shows a gas holder of the ordinary construction including a tank 2 and a bell mounted in the tank and consistingof three telescoping sections designated at 3, 4 and 5,.

respectively. These sections are supported within a frame work of suitable construction, having the usual guides for the rollers which are secured to the sections of the bell.

The joint between adjoining sections is made gas-tight by the use of .the usualwater seals. Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the lower edge of the top section 3 is provided with a trough 6which encircles the entire section. This trough isadapted to contain water, or any other suitable sealing liquid (hereinafter. referred to as water) and .the. top of the inte-rmedlate sectlon 4 15 provided with an overhanging flange 7 which projects downwardly into the trough 6. A-

similar seal is provided between the sections 1 and 5, the trough 8 being formed around the lower margin of the section 4:, and the upper edge of the section 5 being provided into this trough. V

Water is supplied to these seals by a suitable distributing mechanism which, in the form shown, consists of a header 10, Fig. 1,

from whichdistributing branches 12 and 13 lead to the respective seals. Portions of these distributingbranches adjacent to the seals and to the header 10 consist of pipe fittings,'but the intermediate portions usually the distributing pipe 13' is supported on a projects downwardly fconsi'stof flexible hose. so that the functions". of this apparatus will not be disturbed by bracket 14 which is secured to the section 4, and this pipe discharges into the seal 6 through a nozzle 15 which directs the incoming water along the seal practically horizontally. Several of these supply pipes are usu ally provided for each seal according to the size of the holder, the nozzles all being positioned to discharge the water in the same di- 'rection so that a continuous circulation is provided through each seal.

The arrangement so far described is substantially like that shown and described in 'my prior patent above designated. In this prior arrangement, however, the water has been allowed to overflow the wall of the trough inside the bell and fall down through the gas into the tank 2. This is prevented in the arrangement shown by the provision of an overflow pipe or conductor which leads from each seal to the next seal below. Fig. 2' shows an overflow pipe 17 leading from the upper seal 6 between sections 3 and 4 and leading to the lowerseal 8 between the sections 4 and 5. This pipe is secured to the bell section 4 in any convenient manner so that it moves withthe section. It will be observed that the water in the part of the seal exposed to the outside air is at a higher level than that exposed to contact with the gas in the tank, due to the higher pressure within the bell, and this fact facilitates the arrangement of the overflow pipe as just described. Another overflow pipe 19 conducts water from the seal 8 to the tank 2 in which the lower end of the section 5 rests. Water usually is pumped from this tank through the heater, not shown, to the header 10.

In order to keep the warmer water in the seal an extension 18 of the overflow pipe 'is arranged to reach down into the seal, as

shown in' Figs. 2 and 3, so that the overflowing water will be taken from the lower part of the seal where it is relativelycold. The drawings show' the intake ends 18 and 20 for the overflow pipes 17 and 19 in the form of flat channels riveted to the plates 7 and 9, respectively, but it is'obvious that this connection may be made in other ways. To prevent the flanges 7 and 9 from coming into contact with the bottom of the troughs 6 and 8 respectively, and tightly seal the same, blocks 7 and 9 are secured to the bottoms of the respective troughs in spaced apart relation.

In the actual operation and care ofa gas holder of thischaracter in the winter season the temperature of the water delivered to the seals is around 150 F. In order to protect the holder sufficiently the return water from the seals and from the tank ranges any- .where from about 39 F. to 42F. With water conducted to the seals at 150 F. in

' only such quantity as is necessary for them and being delivered at several points so as to keep the agitation as low as possible, the difference in temperature between the top and bottom of a seal may be ten degrees or more.

is of marked advantage to take the water from the bottom or lower portionof a seal, as in the present invention, and conduct 'it into a lower seal or to the tank (which also is a seal) thus preventing this water from overflowing on the inside of the holder and tallingthrough the gas, where it would increase the dew point and wash out more or less of the illuminating'qualities of the gas.

It will now be appreciated that this invention overcomes completely the objections which have been found to exist in usin the apparatus shown in my prior patent 5907c designated. Not only does this arrangement avoid the overflow of water from the seals within the bell, but it also is more economical since muchof the heat which was lost in the prior arrangement due to such overflow is avoided in the present construction by conducting the overflow from the bottoms of the seals.

' While I have herein shown and described water seal between them, means for supplying water to said seal, and an overflow pipe arranged to take the colder water fromthe lower part of said seal and conduct it away from the seal.

It will be quite obvious, therefore, that it,

2. In a gas holderythe combination of a 1 bell consisting of a series of telescoping sections with wateriseals between adjoining sections, pipes for supplying water to the individual seals, and overflow pipes connecting said seals and arranged to conduct the colder water by gravity from the lower part of each seal, said overflow pipes being arranged to conduct water from the upper seals into the lower seals.

3. In a gas holder, the combination. ofa

bell consisting of a series of telescoping sections with water seals between adjoining sections, an overflow ipe carried by an intermediate section '0 said bell and arranged to take the colder water from the 7 lower part of the seal at the upper end of saidsection and conductit to the seal'at the lower end of said section, and means for supplying water to' said upper seal.

anon-en EDWIN oaossr. 

